Ticks

(Phylum Arthropoda>Class Arachnida>Order Acari>Suborder Ixodides)
American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis) American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis)
Female
Floyd Co., VA
23 June 2007

Common in North Carolina, dog ticks are common carriers of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever but are not known to vector Lyme Disease.


Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum) Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum)
Female
Person Co., NC
13 June 2006

Female Lone Star Ticks show the prominent white spot on the back. In NC, Lone Star ticks are major carriers of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum) Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum)
Male
Orange Co., NC
1 June 2009

Male Lone Star Ticks have checkered rear fringes, lack the white spot in the middle of the back, and are smaller than females.

Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum) Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum)
Male
Orange Co., NC
1 June 2009

Note the long mouthparts characteristic of the genus.

Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum) Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum)
nymph
Harnett Co., NC
16 May 2007

Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum) Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum)
Male
Wake Co., NC
27 May 2007

This species is more common near the coast but may be found inland as well. This individual was near Falls Lake in Wake Co. in the NC piedmont.

Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum) Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum)
Male
Wake Co., NC
27 May 2007

Gulf Coast Ticks are also called Gulf Coast Ear Ticks and adults often attach to the ears of dogs or livestock. They are known to vector some diseases such as Canine hepatozoonosis. Larval and nymphal Gulf Coast Ticks feed on rodents and ground-dwelling birds.

Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum) Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum)
Female
Harnett Co., NC
3 Sep 2006

Reddish brown with pale reticulations and very similar to but slightly smaller than American Dog Ticks (which are the largest ticks in North Carolina). Gulf Coast Ticks have longer mouthparts than American Dog Ticks.

Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum) Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum)
Female
Orange Co, NC
29 May 2008
Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum) Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum)
Male
Orange Co, NC
18 June 2008
Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum) Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum)
Male
Orange Co, NC
18 June 2008

Rocky Mountain Wood Tick (Dermacentor andersoni) Most likely Rocky Mountain Wood Tick (Dermacentor andersoni)
Rock Creek, Missoula Co., MT
7 May 2012

Most likely Rocky Mountain Wood Tick (Dermacentor andersoni)
Missoula Co., MT
16 Apr 2016

Rocky Mountain Wood Tick (Dermacentor andersoni) Either Dermacentor occidentalis (Pacific Coast Tick) or Dermacentor andersoni (Rocky Mountain Wood Tick)
Chews Ridge, Monterrey Co., CA
9 July 2007


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Created on ... June 25, 2006 | Updated on ... June 12, 2008 | jeffpippen9@gmail.com